I may have been a little harsh but I'm just going with a couple instances. I still haven't heard it set up properly and I haven't personally even looked through the program pages to figure out how it works. Maybe if I got to set it up and tweak the FX and EQ I may have a different opinion but for what I've seen and heard so far it must be much better than what I've experienced.

I was very fortunate to have been invited up to Bose in Framingham for the roll-out of the system when it was introduced about 10 years ago, so I got a crash course in what to expect and how to utilize it to best advantage. As soon as I got out of that demo, i sold all of my conventional amps and PA system equipment, and have never regretted it for a minute. For nylon-string guitar, it's really unbeatable, especially in ensemble situations, but the requisite outboard processors need to be researched and tweaked. Still, in a large room, a good classical guitar with an audio-Technica Pro 70 clip-on condenser mic straight into the Bose is a ravishing sound.

I'm still waiting for some one to get the system at the bistro set up right. It just getting worse. No one knows how to run it and I'm sticking with my hands off policy. My chats with other musicians and sound engineers tend to agree, Bose uses a lot of little speakers pumps a bunch of wattage and hard wires the Eq to compensate for the inadequacies inherent in arrays with so many small drivers. I have JBL.

I'm still not sold on the tone match mixer. For a 4 channel mixer it's the most expensive thing on the market and it only works with the Boze system. Herein lies the problem with Boze, inflexible, unadaptable, difficult to operate outside of it's preset mode. The arrays are ineffective outside, without reflective surfaces or when sound level of the band exceeds 105db. Acoustics dictate that sound is a point source. One good speaker delivers the sound better than multiple small speakers.

The point source, however, is the source of most amplification problems, from feedback to uneven volume. A line array is much more efficient, sending more sound in more directions at a larger distance. The Bose L1 system is the wrong choice for a club where different acts are in each night; the system needs to be learned and tweaked by its owner, and becomes, eventually, part of the instrument. I do quite a lot of live work since I'm a full-time player, and from solo to quartet gigs, from classical guitar to swing/pop gigs with electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, horns, etc., the Bose system is the easiest way to get a good, clean sound that will fill a good-sized space. Again, in a very large venue needing a really big sound, I prefer to work with a conventional system run by a good sound engineer, but even when I do that, I use my Bose Compact as my onstage amp/monitor and run a line out into a direct box for the FOH sound.

I did a show yesterday with the Boze. As a duo we had the mixer maxed with two mics and two guitars. It started out sounding pretty good but I don't know what happened through the show. It started loosing high end but at the same time it was feeding back. What's up with that? It seems to have a mind of it's own and as the gig progressed the little sound man inside must get a little drunk or something. I like tone controls I can see without scrolling through pages of programming. Graphic Eq's are the best, you have good control of the sound and can see at a glance what your settings are.

I did another show with the same Bose in a different part of the room. We had the same problem. Feedback slowly built up over time and at about 70 minutes we had to stop to try to get our sound back. We had to re boot the tone match head. I told my partner Gary "The little sound man in there must be drunk or something" and he replied "that's how it seems to me too."

I still don't really understand how feedback just grows over time. At our coffee house open play this month, we had played for 90 minutes with no problems. I had finished playing and was putting my guitar in the case, maybe ten feet away from the mic, and I hear the feed back coming on. Luckily I was able to run over to the PA head and turn the volume down before it got too loud. I've had this happen numerous times before, with many different PA's in different venues. I swear even temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure must have some effect. It's not just a Bose problem. I guess if you get to know your system you can troubleshoot feedback problems easier, I am sure if you were familiar with the Bose you would be able to control it better.

All that being said, if you read about the L1 systems on the web, you will find many detractors and then again many who swear it is a godsend. I have been contemplating getting one, just because carrying a regular size PA gets to be a real pain in the neck. I still haven't played through one though, people say they are common, but I haven't seen one outside of Guitar Center.

I got a sound gig for NYE to replace a Boze rig which the band refuses to use again. I have to choose which bottom of the barrel system to use. New and crummy or old and crummy. It's a sad statement for the Bose concept when an inferior system I only use for rehearsals is preferred over the Boze. I'll be a busy boy. I have four gigs booked in one day! Happy New Year!

I finally got to try the Boze for myself solo CG. I figured out the tone match setting for CG (Nylon/Piezo) and was dismayed that the attack seemed to be sampled and I couldn't affect it in the least. I sounded like all nails with a 75ms slapback and too much chorus which I disabled but it was still there. I found it annoying and distracting. It sounded like some one elses playing attack and fingernail noises and not mine at all. I tried to pure flesh and the nail clicks were still there. It freaks me out.

I have a Fishman Loudbox Mini for small venues but recently I played a crowded restaurant and the staff kept telling me I needed more volume. I am considering the Bose L1 Compact since it is currently on sale.

I have a question. Has anyone tried to use the Mini for the effects and run the post out to a PA system? Has anyone tried this with the Bose? I am using an Audio Technica clip on instrument mic.